


Oracle Day Drabble

by Molly_Hats



Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Birds of Prey (Comic), Detective Comics (Comics)
Genre: Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Canon Disabled Character, Character Study, Drabble, Gen, One Shot, Oracle Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-07 00:25:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14068884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Molly_Hats/pseuds/Molly_Hats
Summary: “Do you miss your legs?”Barbara looked over at Wendy.  The younger girl sat at the computer, her eyes following the Batgirl dot on the map.  As Barbara watched, Wendy’s eyes shifted to meet hers before darting back.





	Oracle Day Drabble

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Oracle Day! This is a piece I’ve been mulling for awhile, mostly since the Oracle arc of BATBOP. Might make a part 2 set in rebirth

“Do you miss your legs?”

Barbara looked over at Wendy. The younger girl sat at the computer, her eyes following the Batgirl dot on the map. As Barbara watched, Wendy’s eyes shifted to meet hers before darting back.

Barbara hesitated for what seemed like forever, but was probably mere seconds, contemplating what to say.

“Yes” was her immediate thought. She missed being Batgirl, missed the rush, missed the satisfaction of training herself and applying it, missed swinging through the city by batrope. She missed running, she missed all the things that were just easier with legs—missed not looking for ramps, missed no one trying to push her in misguided attempts to help, missed everything being just easier and never realizing it because she never had to. She missed being in the field, not stuck in mission control sending others to do the dangerous work, listening and staring at her Batfamily plushies and hoping to hear their voices again.

“No” was her second thought, not so much for truthfulness as for duty. She knew she did more as Oracle than Batgirl. She knew Cassandra was born for the role, and that Stephanie was a surprisingly capable Batgirl, too. She knew that this identity was hers and hers alone, that she’d never have made it if the chance to be Batgirl again wasn’t taken from her. She knew that so much of her life would be different without Oracle. Would she want it that way? To wipe out this part of her life, her identity?

What hurt was the lack of choice, but she knew if she had the choice she’d never choose this. She knew she wouldn’t be Oracle if she could still walk. She’d never have needed it. There were so many lives she couldn’t have saved if she was still just Batgirl, still running around and trying her best to fix everything, one girl with a brain and her fists and, yes, legs, but little else. 

“Yes,” Barbara said finally. Wendy turned her head to look at her. “I miss walking. Running. A lot of things. And I know I can do more as Oracle than I ever could as Batgirl, but it still hurts. For awhile I tried to pretend it didn’t.”

Wendy didn’t even pretend to watch the screen anymore, her eyebrows knit together like she was fighting not to cry.

“I have a different life, now. I don’t know if I like it better than I would one where that night never happened. It’s not very helpful to think about that. But what I do know is, I can help more people like this. And whatever this life is...it’s mine. It’s better in some ways, worse in others, but I don’t want to go back to being that little girl in high heeled boots anymore.”

“So you do miss them.” Wendy clarified.

Barbara tapped one of her wheels absently. “Yeah. I do.”


End file.
